SUMMERS COUNTY W.Va. (Hinton News) – Because of the several security provisions in the upcoming school levy vote, I asked Dr. Green of the central Board office if there had been any security concerns in the last few years. He mentioned two angry parents at Jumping Branch, one at Talcott, one at the high school, a fight between a student and a teacher, and a drug deal at the high school.
The worst nightmare for school superintendents, principals, teachers, children, and, especially, parents is that some crazed individual will come onto school property with a gun. From Columbine to Sandy Hook to Parkland to Uvalde, it is obvious that a school tragedy can happen anywhere. If you believe it can’t happen in West Virginia, you are turning a blind eye to reality.
Most of the funding for Summers County schools comes through the state school aid funding formula, a multi-step process specifying how the money must be used. There is no step in the formula for school security. The 20% school levy on the May primary ballot has four provisions fashioned by the Superintendent’s Office and the School Board to address security.
The fourth line item in the levy provides funds for a safe school entrance at Jumping Branch Elementary School. Jumping Branch is the oldest active school building in Summers County. It was built in a time when parents and others could come and go to schools any time during school hours without any thought of security. Those of us of a certain age learned to get under our desks in the event of a nuclear attack (as if that would help keep us safe!), but we had no fear of anyone coming through the unlocked front door. Unfortunately, very unfortunately, those days are long gone. School doors are now locked, and they stay locked. All visitors are scrutinized. A safe entrance may not guarantee that no tragedy will occur, but it is standard on all new school construction, and Jumping Branch deserves the same.
The fifth line item in the levy provides funds for a School Resource Officer at Summers County Comprehensive High School. A School Resource Officer is a police officer charged with keeping children safe. The Summers County Comprehensive High School now has the Middle School and High School under one roof. Putting a School Resource Officer there is a commonsense precaution. There is no provision in the state school aid formula for a School Resource Officer.
The eighth line item in the levy provides funds for security window treatments and related improvements at our schools. Security windows allow a person inside to see out, but a person outside cannot see in. There are several reasons why they are a good idea: bullets pierce glass easily, but if the shooter cannot see a target, it is unlikely he would shoot; replacing the windows with bulletproof glass might be an option, but they would be prohibitively expensive; and these one-way windows would frustrate stalkers. Like the locked doors, this was not at all a problem when I was in school.
The ninth line item in the levy would provide funds for exterior lighting and related improvements at Summers County Comprehensive High School. If you have been to a football or basketball game at the High School, you probably already realize that the parking lots are dark when the game is over. Lighting those lots is just another commonsense solution to the problem.
